Son still blames toxic oil used in training fires for cancer that killed firefighter father

Other families wonder if the lack of protection when using the toxins caused cancer in their relatives

By Tim Prudente
The Maryland Gazette

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, W. Va. — Ask Charlie Parks about his friend and fellow firefighter, David E. Fowler, and the words come out in rush: tireless, dedicated.

Consider the 1979 house fire, three-alarm, in Severna Park. Flames screamed from the basement, the windows — the whole house engulfed. Firefighters worked more than two hours. Some sat exhausted on the lawn. But there was Fowler, in full-turnout gear, working undaunted in the summer heat — manning hose lines, throwing ladders, ripping holes in the roof.

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